


Mélange

by kiite



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Families of Choice, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:07:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23239666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiite/pseuds/kiite
Summary: Sanji misses the departure of The Orbit and boards another ship instead.
Relationships: Vinsmoke Sanji & Whitebeard Pirates
Comments: 49
Kudos: 283





	Mélange

Sanji hugged his knees close to himself as he sat in the corner of the dark room, back pressed against the wall. The steady creaking and rocking of the ship stressed the young boy out; though he had been born and raised in a mobile kingdom, Germa didn’t really rock, and it  _ certainly _ never creaked. But this— this actually felt like a ship.  _ A pirate ship _ , Sanji reminded himself, shoving his head down in misery.

* * *

When Sanji had made his escape from the prison cell, he had been set on leaving the island, no matter what. Reiju had told him there was a passenger ship in port. It would be a safe escape route. And maybe there  _ had _ been a passenger ship there when she had been down by the harbor; but by the time Sanji arrived, there was only one ship there, and the Jolly Roger was a clear indication that it wouldn’t be a safe escape route.

In Sanji’s mind, though, there was no choice. He couldn’t return to Germa, to his isolated prison cell— after pointing a knife at his father, Sanji would never see the light of day again. He tried to convince himself it would be easy; all he had to do was sneak onboard amidst the chaos of the assault on Cozia, and stow away until the ship docked at its next destination.  _ Oh, and not get killed by the scary pirates _ , he reminded himself, feeling his tears from earlier threaten to return. 

Sneaking onto the ship was not particularly difficult. The massive ship was a flurry of activity, with men transporting supplies onto the ship with as much haste as possible. Sanji’s eyes wandered to an unattended pile of food supplies waiting to be carried to a stockroom. He crept over, lifting the lid on a crate of rice; it was only half full, with plenty of space for him to hide. 

He wasn’t sure how long he sat in the crate, curled up and holding his breath. Sanji was too afraid to make a single sound— the concept of being discovered by the pirates was scary, sure, but even worse was the fear of being left here. He had to get far, far away from his father and brothers, somewhere he would never have to see them again. Motionless on the bed of rice, Sanji screwed his eyes shut and thought of the All Blue.

At some point, the world around him shifted slightly as someone hefted his crate up and carried it, presumably, onto the pirate ship. The boy’s heart raced as he was moved; any number of things could go terribly wrong, and it would be over for him. He couldn’t let Reiju’s help in his escape go to waste.

Eventually, the crate was placed and the shifting feeling changed into steady rocking. Sanji waited, listening closely for the sounds of other people, but the only thing he could pick up was distant laughter drifting through floorboards above him. Not a feeling he was unfamiliar with. 

Pushing the lid above him off as quietly as he could, Sanji peeked around the room he had been moved to. The room was dark; there were no windows, and the positioning of the ceiling made him think he was likely in a portion of the ship that was under the water. After a bit of adjusting, he could just barely make out some features of the room. Judging by the various sacks and crates of food that lined the walls, he had been right in assuming he’d end up in a storeroom. 

Hope swelled in Sanji’s chest— this was good! He could work with this! The room was naturally pretty dark, and that meant easy to hide in. If it was a storeroom, it probably wasn’t too busy either, so he wouldn’t have to stay on high alert constantly. He could nab some food— not so much that anyone would notice, but just enough to keep him going— and bide his time in here until the next time the ship docked. Then he would sneak off the ship and make a life for himself wherever he had hitched a ride to.

Crawling out of the crate, Sanji concealed himself in the corner of the room, hidden behind stacks of boxes that formed a wall. The situation he found himself in so suddenly overwhelmed him, and he felt the urge to cry, but he shoved it down. It would be okay; he only had to endure this for a little while, and then he’d finally have a shot at living the life he always wanted. 

Sanji had spent half a year as a ghost— surely he could go a few days without being noticed. He had experience, after all.

* * *

A few days turned into a week, and now a week was verging on two weeks. This was more than Sanji had bargained for, by far.

At this point in his life, “high alert” was more or less the only setting Sanji had. He always had to be on edge; in Germa, it had helped him to hide things he didn’t want his father to throw away, or stay out of his brothers’ way to avoid a beating. And on a pirate ship, it helped him avoid detection. The cost of this was his sleep; he couldn’t be alert when he was asleep, so he stayed awake as often as possible. Not to mention, Sanji was a naturally light sleeper, so if anyone did approach the room while he slept, he’d be up pretty quickly. 

The storeroom was dark as always, the only light creeping in from under the door. The source was presumably a wall mounted lamp in the hallway, but Sanji had never had the chance to see for himself; any time in which the door was open, he was completely hidden away. Shut away in the dark room all by himself for days on end, Sanji was starting to wonder if he had traded one prison cell for another. 

Voices in the hall made Sanji stiffen, and he instinctively ducked behind his cover. He willed his heart to stop pounding so that he could eavesdrop.

“...Are you sure you’re not overreacting? After all, there's a lot of people on the ship.”

“No, I’m tellin’ ya Marco, I’m real careful with keepin’ track of this kinda stuff. Wouldn’t do for us to run out of food on the sea just ’cause I counted wrong.”

“So, what? Someone is stealing from the storeroom? Or do you think we have a rat problem?”

“Hell if I know. All I know is, we’re lower than we should be, and that food has to be goin’  _ somewhere.  _ Hey, a bird like you can catch a few rats, yeah?”

“Catch them yourself.” 

“Aww, c’mon man, don’t be like that!”

The hammering of Sanji’s heart returned full force, drowning out the rest of the conversation.  _ They knew _ . He had screwed up; somewhere, he must have taken too much, he must have gotten greedy, and now they knew something was off. Panic was threatening to choke him as he shoved himself harder into the corner, trying to make himself small.

This was— He could fix this. He just… he just had to eat less, maybe not eat anymore, and they wouldn’t know he was here. If it meant he’d be safe, he could manage. Just a little longer.

Despite his stress levels hitting a high, Sanji could feel his exhaustion getting the better of him. It had been a while since he had slept any, and it was taking a toll on his ability to stay alert.  _ I’ll take a quick nap, that’s all,  _ Sanji told himself, curling up on the floor and pulling a large, empty sack over himself to conceal his form.  _ Just a quick… _

Sanji was out in record time, falling into a deeper sleep than he had ever managed in his time aboard the ship. He didn’t even stir when someone quietly crept into the room, taking care to avoid the creaky floorboards as they checked inside crates and behind shelves. The boy only woke when a rough hand closed around his arm and yanked him upwards, exposing him to the light flooding in from the open door.

“Ah,” the man with the pompadour said, dangling a petrified Sanji by the wrist, “Caught the rat.”

* * *

The floor had his full attention as Sanji sat in what he assumed to be the galley, surrounded by four rather intimidating men. His feet didn’t touch the floor as they dangled over the edge of the bench he was seated on, and it made him feel even smaller in the face of these strangers, two of which were taller than his fa— than Judge. 

The man who had caught him— Sanji had learned he was named Thatch— watched him thoughtfully, hand on his goatee. Next to him was a tall blond man, who Sanji suspected might be Marco. He was dwarfed by the bare-chested man with two swords strapped to his hip, who was in turn dwarfed by the mountain of a man clad in armor. Sanji only snuck occasional glances at each of them, not wanting to meet any of their eyes.

“When did you get on, kid?”

Sanji tensed, realizing they were talking to him. He looked up, meeting the blond man’s eyes. His expression was not necessarily unkind, but Sanji wouldn’t call it kind, either. He fidgeted a bit with the hem of his shirt, which was fraying awfully at this point.

“Cozia,” he said hoarsely, his voice barely above a whisper. He hadn’t done a lot of talking in the last six months, and it showed.

The blond man sighed, running a hand through his hair. “That’s what I suspected. Shit.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, tapping his foot impatiently. 

“He must have come on board to escape the onslaught…” the swordsman speculated. Sanji had no intention of correcting him. Germa wasn’t a well received name anywhere, probably even less so among a crew that had gotten tangled up in one of their assaults. 

“Even if we could spare the time for a return trip, there's nothin’ to return to.”

“So… what now?” the mountainous man asked, towering over his comrades. “I mean, he did steal from us. Do we throw him in the brig or something? That feels like the pirate course of action.”

Sanji’s chest tightened, and he was aware of the tremors running through his body. He didn’t want to be locked up again— he couldn’t do it. His shaking must have been noticeable, because the blond man stepped forward and squatted down to eye level in front of him.

“Hey, kid, he was just joking. We don’t even have a brig,” the man said in an attempt to comfort him, but now that his panic was at the forefront, Sanji couldn’t seem to hide it again. 

“Please,” Sanji begged, his voice rough. “I’ll get off at the next island, I just— I can cook, and I won’t eat anymore; you won’t even know I’m here. Please don’t kill me.” As much as he didn’t want to cry in front of these people, he couldn’t stop the stray tears that slipped out of his eyes and down his face.

The man crouched down in front of him frowned, and Sanji was afraid he was going to outright refuse. “We were never going to kill you, kid,” he said, sounding tired, but not necessarily directed at Sanji the way it always was with Judge after Sanji screwed up. “C’mon. I think you should talk to our captain.”

* * *

The door to the captain’s room was absolutely massive. Sanji looked up at it, eyes wide, as he tried to imagine what kind of giant awaited him inside. Marco, as he had introduced himself on the walk over, placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

“Pops is a good guy, I promise,” Marco reassured him, giving him a small smile. “Just answer him honestly and you’ll be fine.”

Sanji nodded, though his nerves remained. Marco rapped the door with a hand, and a few seconds passed before a low voice invited them in. Even through the barrier of the door, the words rumbled like an earthquake, and it made Sanji want to turn tail and run. Instead, he stepped inside with Marco.

The room was fairly dark; it had windows, but there was no moon out tonight to shed any light. The main source of light was a lamp on the table that had been lit. It illuminated the figure of the tallest man Sanji had ever seen in his life. Even sitting down on the edge of his bed, the man absolutely towered over both Sanji and Marco. Sanji was instantly frozen to the spot, feeling even more powerless than he had in the galley.

“Yo, Pops,” Marco said casually, but he still gave a small bow. “Seems like we picked up a stowaway on Cozia.” 

The massive man turned his gaze to Sanji, and the boy had never felt smaller in his life. “Leave us for now,” the man said to Marco, not turning away from Sanji. “Wait outside the door.” 

Marco nodded and excused himself, leaving the two of them alone. Sanji wished he hadn’t; Marco didn’t exactly make him feel safe, but at least he had made it clear that he didn’t want to hurt him. 

“Lad,” the captain rumbled, “do you know who I am?” 

“No, sir,” Sanji answered honestly.

The man broke out into laughter, the loud booming making Sanji flinch. “‘ _ Sir’? _ Your manners are too good to be stowing away on this ship, runt!”

Sanji felt compelled to apologize, though he wasn’t exactly sure what he’d done wrong, but the man continued before he got the chance. “My name is Edward Newgate, but most people call me Whitebeard. Except my sons— they call me Pops.”

_ Whitebeard _ . The name was… familiar, but Sanji couldn’t place it. Perhaps he had overheard Judge mention the name in one of his meetings, maybe he had seen it in a book— but as it stood, Sanji didn’t really know who Whitebeard was. 

Sanji suddenly became aware of the silence, and realized Whitebeard was probably waiting for him to introduce himself. Afraid of making any further blunders, Sanji straightened his back and assumed a respectful posture.

“My name is Sanji,” he stated, omitting his family name. It wasn’t technically a lie; Judge had made it clear that Sanji was no longer a Vinsmoke. 

“How old are you, Sanji?” 

“Eight, sir— I mean, um, I’m eight.” 

Whitebeard leaned forward, studying Sanji intently. “You may have boarded at Cozia, lad, but you’re not  _ from _ Cozia, are you?”

Sanji stiffened, cursing his involuntary reaction for probably giving Whitebeard his answer. His visible eye was wide in terror; he wanted to look away, but he couldn’t move.  _ Does he know? Is he going to send me back? _

Whitebeard barked out another laugh, raising a placating hand. “Don’t give me that look, lad! When you're on this ship, your past doesn’t matter. We’ve all got our secrets.” Sanji relaxed slightly, letting out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. Whitebeard put his hand on his chin, the wrinkles on his face creasing in thought. “Just answer me this: why did you sneak onto this ship?”

His first instinct was to lie. By all means, he should lie; if he said too much, it could all be over. But, for some reason, Sanji couldn’t lie to this man.

“I… had to get away from my family,” Sanji said, swallowing hard. “I got my only chance at Cozia, and your ship was the only one in the harbor.” He looked down at the wooden planks beneath his feet. “I was going to get off at the next island, I swear.”

“Did you know this was a pirate ship?” Sanji nodded. 

“So you would rather risk being caught by pirates than stay with your family?” Another nod.

They fell into another silence, and Sanji was too afraid to look back up. Finally, Whitebeard exhaled loudly. “Do you have a dream, Sanji?”

Slowly, Sanji raised his head up, meeting Whitebeard’s gaze. There was something warm in it, something Sanji felt he could trust. He felt… vulnerable, but not in the way he did around his family. It was a nice vulnerability, a safe one. 

“I want to become a cook, and…” he blushed a bit, preparing to be made fun of, “...I want to find the All Blue.”

Sanji was used to being laughed at, but not like this. Whitebeard’s laugh didn’t have a hint of mockery in it; it was good natured and joyful, the same as the grin that broke out on his face. Putting his hand on his knees, Whitebeard rose to his full height, the floor creaking slightly beneath him as he did. 

“That’s a commendable dream, lad!” Whitebeard’s voice boomed, and Sanji wondered how far it carried. “Most people these days are too afraid to chase a dream like that. But people like you and me, we’re the ones who keep the flame burning. Never let anyone convince you to give up on that dream!” 

Kneeling despite the obvious toll it took on his body, Whitebeard brought himself closer to Sanji’s level than he had been the entire conversation. “You wanted to hitch a ride to the next island, right?” Sanji nodded, dumbstruck by everything that was happening. “I’ll do you one better! Join my crew, and become my son. You won’t find a better place to chase that dream than aboard this ship.”

Whitebeard extended a massive hand, presenting it to Sanji; a clear invitation for Sanji to take it, if he so wished. Sanji could only stare in shock, completely staggered by Whitebeard’s actions. In the short walk over to the captain’s cabin, Sanji had imagined a plethora of terrible ways this conversation would end. Never once had he considered something like  _ this _ . 

_ A pirate, huh?  _ That was something he’d never imagined in his short life. His mother had read fairy tales about pirates to him, and he’d read a few by himself. He knew that it was dangerous, and a lot of people hated pirates, but still, something drew all those people to the sea. Now he knew; they were chasing their own dreams, just like he wanted to.

He came to the conclusion that he didn’t really have a problem with being a pirate. The bigger matter was this man inviting him to be his son.  _ Is it really that easy,  _ Sanji thought to himself,  _ to make someone your son? _ He supposed it had been easy for Judge to declare that Sanji was no longer his son, so maybe the reverse was just as simple. 

Whitebeard felt… safe. By all means, he shouldn’t; he was a huge, scarred man who was the captain of what looked to be a pretty sizable crew. But in the short time Sanji had spent in his company, he already felt more like a father than Judge had in a long time. 

_ Maybe being his son wouldn’t be so bad, _ Sanji thought as he cautiously extended his own hand. He was still terrified of the future, of letting himself rely on anyone again; but right now, it seemed like the smart choice. Slowly, he wrapped his hand around one of Whitebeard’s fingers, and the man grinned at him. 

“Gurarara! Glad to have you aboard, son! You said you wanted to be a cook, right?  _ Marco!” _ At the sound of his name, the blond man popped his head in through the doorway. “Go tell Thatch he has a new member of his division!” Marco grinned before disappearing from sight, his footsteps fading as he headed back to the galley. 

Sanji watched him go for a moment before a huge hand was lowered gently onto his shoulder, engulfing it and most of his arm. He turned his gaze back to Whitebeard, and he hadn’t felt so wanted in a long time.

“Welcome to the Whitebeard Pirates, my son.”

**Author's Note:**

> so... some words
> 
> -if u kno my track record with multi chapter fics, u probably kno I’m very bad at finishing them. BUT I’ve got this one plotted out pretty far so I’m gonna give it my all to actually finish it. Not sure exactly how long it’s gonna shake out to be but maybe around 8 chapters?
> 
> -expect a lot of just sanji hangin out w/ WB pirates (especially thatch)
> 
> -love u thanks for reading


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